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  Vatican Confirms Matano As New Catholic Bishop for Vt.

By Sam Hemingway
Burlington Free Press [Burlington VT]
November 11, 2005

Newly named Bishop Salvatore R. Matano said Wednesday that the state's Roman Catholic diocese faces "turbulent waters" ahead but he intends to go slow on any plans to close parishes or sell church property.

Matano, whose ascension to bishop was assured when he was named the diocese's co-adjutor bishop in April, said his priority as the ninth bishop of the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington will be to re-energize support for the church among Catholics in Vermont.

Matano officially replaced retiring Bishop Kenneth A. Angell on Wednesday when Pope Benedict XVI accepted Angell's retirement request.

"Every diocese wants a bishop who believes in hope. We might stumble; we might fall; and we might get muddy along the way. But we will pick ourselves up and do the best we can," Matano said during a Burlington news conference hours after the Vatican confirmed his appointment.

Matano, 59, acknowledged that diocesan officials have been discussing plans to close or consolidate parishes but said he was opposed to making dramatic changes.

"I think closing parishes en masse would not be a suitable way to go in Vermont," he said. There also is no immediate plan to sell church property, Matano said. In 2004, the diocese put off a decision to sell its 32-acre site on North Avenue that once housed the now-defunct St. Joseph's Orphanage and is home to diocesan offices.

Matano said he wants to expand the number of diocesan priests serving in Vermont and encourage parishioners to commit to attending Mass every week. He also said he will espouse church positions opposing abortion and supporting marriage and families.

"Mass attendance is essential to who we are as Catholics and Christians," Matano said. He said moments like baptisms, weddings and funerals are ways for the church to re-connect with Catholics who have stopped going to Mass regularly.

Catholicism is the largest denomination in the state, but the number of practicing Catholics has declined, forcing the church to consider closing parishes. According to the Rev. John McDermott, diocesan chancellor, Vermont has about 118,000 Catholics, but only a third of them attend Mass on a given weekend.

Matano said he hopes to address the church's priest shortage partly by bringing in priests from other countries who "can be missionaries to us as we once were to them." He also said he hopes more home-grown candidates for the priesthood will step forward.

"A parish that asks, 'When will we get a priest' should itself be asked when was the last time the parish sent a young man to the seminary," he said. Due mostly to retirement or death, there are 82 priests, down from 92 just a year ago and 274 priests 30 years ago.

John Manahan, a Catholic parishioner from St. Albans, said he was impressed with Matano. "I've seen him a couple of times," Manahan said. "I think the diocese will be well served. He really seems to want to know people." Manahan also said he will miss Angell, who he said had represented Catholics well.

Angell, who appeared with Matano at Wednesday's news conference, said he had enjoyed his 13 years at the helm of the diocese. During his tenure, Angell unsuccessfully fought against passage of the state's civil union law giving marriage-like benefits to same sex couples.

Angell, 75, also wrestled with ongoing sex abuse scandals involving priests who allegedly molested children in the past. In the mid-1990s, the church confronted claims by more than 100 former orphanage residents that they were physically abused or molested by nuns, church personnel or priests at the facility in the decades before it was closed in 1974.

"I had difficulties of one kind or another," he said, reflecting on his tenure in Vermont. "But I enjoyed working with so many wonderful people and serving so many wonderful people."

Angell said he expects to split his time between living in Vermont and in Rhode Island, where he and Matano worked previously.